Other Joseph updates

Time to talk about Joseph some more! I guess we can consider this a sort of an ~18-month update.

• He has learned . . . 100 words? We've kind of stopped counting, so that number is maybe just the total number of words he has ever learned (including letters of the alphabet), not the ones he uses regularly. My favorite words of his are the ones that end in 's', like yes, Jesus, mess, bus, toast, and rice. He also has a few words that he tacks 's's onto because they belong in there somewhere, like pasta ("bob-us"), snow ("noce"), and small ("malls"). No two-word phrases yet, but I'm sure they're coming soon.

• Unfortunately, you wouldn't know how verbose he can be if you happened to meet him at church or at a playgroup because he can be super super shy. I can sometimes just hold him through all Sacrament Meeting while he buries his face in my chest. Once he gets comfortable around people he is very giggly and happy, but until then he is a cuddly, shy boy.



This is his stranger face. Also his Nursery face, I think.

• Overall, he is pretty mellow. I feel like I'm the least qualified person to give parenting advice because I don't have to do much parenting. He doesn't ransack things like he used to (except for my desk, but that's because that's new) or throw things in the trash or toilet like I feared. Nor does he usually throw tantrums when he doesn't get his way. We basically have fun together all day.

• Except, that is, when I tried to feed him something besides his 8 acceptable foods. Although he occasionally eats vegetables and meat, he usually fills his small stomach with things that are white or sweet, such as carbs, dairy, and fruit. I try not to stress it so that he doesn't learn to resist eating adult food, but it's always a little disheartening. I care a little more about nutrition now that I have finally weaned him (only 5 months after expected . . . a little too early for both of us but my body needed a break). This hasn't entirely fixed his night wakings -- in fact, sometimes it makes it worse when it's clear all he wants is to nurse and so we spend 90 minutes trying to get around that -- but it has decreased them quite a bit. There's about a 40% chance I will wake up at 7 instead of several hours earlier. I will accept that gratefully.

One day he discovered mac 'n cheese and loved it, but he didn't eat it all so it made leftovers (gross). He still liked them so much that I found him like this.

They were so dry though that he didn't even get his hair messed up by doing this.

• Although he is pretty happy, he still has that fiery streak in him that likes to say "No" to everything. There have been several times where I find him staring at himself in the mirror, wagging his finger or yelling "No! No! NO!!!" and then walking away completely happy after his pep talk. It's pretty hilarious. 
• Sometimes though that pep talk is instead him nodding and saying "yeah, yeah, yeah." Funny boy.

•  Anyway, this is my favorite age yet. I always say that, but it's definitely true these days. I absolutely love my Joseph boy!